Goldman Sachs officials charged with fraudulent misappropriation

Friday's filings are the second set of charges to be laid against Goldman Sachs officials, taking the total now facing charges to twenty-one

In December charges were filed against 3 of the company's subsidiaries and their key employees Tim Leissner and Roger Ng

Goldman Sachs says the charges are misdirected and will be vigorously defended

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Criminal charges were filed in Malaysia on Friday against 17 current and former directors of Goldman Sachs.

Friday's filings are the second set of charges to be laid against Goldman Sachs officials, taking the total now facing charges to twenty-one.

In December charges were filed against 3 of the company's subsidiaries and their key employees Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, together with Jasmine Loo Ai Swan of 1MDB and Low Taek Jho, over a scheme to defraud the government of Malaysia and the purchasers of 3 bonds with a face value of $6.5 billion.

The bonds were underwritten and arranged by Goldman Sachs, and issued by subsidiaries of 1MDB.

"Custodial sentences and criminal fines will be sought against the accused given the severity of the scheme to defraud and fraudulent misappropriation of billions in bond proceeds, the lengthy period over which the offences were planned and executed, the number of Goldman Sachs subsidiaries, officers and employees involved and the relative value of the fees and commissions paid to Goldman Sachs for their multiple roles played in arranging, structuring, underwriting and selling the three bonds," Malaysia's Attorney General Tommy Thomas said in a statement released on Friday."We believe the charges announced today, along with those against three Goldman Sachs entities announced in December last year, are misdirected and will be vigorously defended," a spokesperson for Goldman Sachs said Friday.